The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library by Alice Kimberly

Released: 2006

I was extremely pleased by Alice Kimberly's The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library...it captured me from the very beginning!

The novel's premise surrounds an old collection of Edgar Allen Poe volumes and a secret "Poe Code" that the volumes can decipher, revealing a hidden treasure. Antique book dealers and buyers that come into contact with the volumes are murdered.

Initially, it was Sadie's story about her history with Peter Chesley that drew me into the novel's story, which I felt was very important when keeping readers engaged in a particular series. The book lore and history behind these special volumes containing Poe's works which were owned by Peter was indeed very intriguing. The reader not only becomes interested and involved with solving the mystery, but also in the outcome of discovering what the hidden treasure is.


Jack's character continues to be super sexy and endearing, and I am thankful that he can enter Penelope's dreams from time to time. I absolutely love his 1940's detective-banter and how he rubs off on Penelope. In further books I hope to see more character development in finding out more behind Jack's death and his true ties to Penelope, which I suspect are much greater than just his haunting of her bookstore.

As far as the actual murder mystery itself, I didn't feel as if there were enough characters to suspect being behind the mayhem, so it was super easy to determine the killer's identity. Of course I enjoy this cozy mystery series and can accept it for what it is.

Great reading, I couldn't put The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library down!

The series starts with The Ghost and Mrs. McClure and follows with The Ghost and the Dead Deb.